Monday, January 16, 2017

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Melba Moore

Artist:Melba Moore
Song:Love's Comin' At Ya
Album:Soul Classics Volume 4





Melba Moore first came to prominence as a Broadway performer in the late 60s. She had some success in music in the 70s and 80s. Love's Comin' At Ya was a big hit on the dance charts in 1983. It's probably her biggest hit. She was born Beatrice Melba Hill Oct. 29, 1945 in New York City. Her mom was 40s singer Bonnie Davis and her dad was bandleader Teddy Hill. After they divorced, her mom married jazz pianist Clement Moorman and he got her a record deal in the 70s. Melba started out in the original Broadway production of Hair. Then she won a Tony for Purlie in 1970. She hosted a TV variety show with Clifton Davis in 1972. when their relationship ended, so did the show. At this point, she had already recorded three albums for Mercury. She married her new manager Charles Huggins in 1975 and he got her a record deal with Buddah. Her 1976 single This Is It reached #2 in the Dance charts. It was written and produced by Van McCoy (The Hustle). In 1978 she moved to Epic. At first she worked with Philly Soul producers McFadden & Whitehead. And then Epic got her to record disco and it wasn't as successful as her Buddah recordings. Melba signed with Capitol in 1981. On her first album, she again worked mostly with McFadden & Whitehead. But for her 1982 album The Other Side Of The Rainbow, she worked with producers who had a better handle on what would be successful in the 80s, specifically Kashif. Love's Comin' At Ya reached #2 on the Dance charts and #5 on the R&B Singles chart. It was her biggest hit since This Is It. The song was written and produced by Paul Laurence who also worked with Freddie Jackson. And of course Melba would have success recording with Jackson. Melba remained on Capitol through the 80s and had modest success. There is no Melba Moore comp on print right now. You can get Love's Comin' At Ya on this Capitol various artists budget comp. In the 90s, Melba returned to Broadway and she has had a lot of success with her one woman show I'm Still Standing. It looks like she has recorded mostly gospel albums. In 2013, she released a CD with Phil Perry called The Gift Of Love. It's not clear if Melba is still active. She seems to be semi-retired. Here's Melba Moore performing Love Comin' At Ya on Top Of The Pops 1983.

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